Ezra 4-6

The local people opposed the return of Judah and Benjamin and spoke against them, attempting to discourage them and stop the work. Chapter 4 contains a letter written by them to King Artaxerxes in which they warned that the Hebrews would rebel once Jerusalem was rebuilt. King Artaxerxes was indeed concerned and ordered the work stopped. Later, during Darius’ reign Zerubbabel and Joshua began rebuilding the temple and again the local authorities wrote to the emperor. This time they included the Hebrew response to their accusations which was that Cyrus had ordered the temple rebuilt. The record was found in Ecbatana rather than Babylon because this was Cyrus’ Median capital and the summer palace of later kings.

After reading Cyrus’ original decree Darius ordered that the Trans-Euphrates district pay for the temple construction and provide anything needed, including daily food rations. “Furthermore, I decree that if anyone defies this edict, a beam is to be pulled from their house and they are to be impaled on it. And for this crime their house is to be made a pile of rubble” (6:11). The modern practice of Israel destroying the homes of suicide bombers thus has a long history. The work went ahead and the temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. The people celebrated with a dedication and priestly instillation. Then in the first month Passover was again celebrated.

Ezra 1-3

Ezra begins by stating the decree of Cyrus to return the people to Jerusalem and build a temple to God there. To facilitate this he returned 5,400 articles of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar had brought to Babylon along with the exiles. The second chapter lists the totals of the men of Judah who returned, including priests, Levites, and temple workers. It also mentions that there were a number of men who could not prove they were of Hebrew descent, including some from among the priestly families. They were restricted from eating the sacred food until their heritage could be established.

When they arrived back in Jerusalem their first task was to rebuild an altar to God and perform the twice daily sacrifices. They reinstituted the seasonal festivals and holy days and performed the obligatory rites. As they were able they laid the foundation for a new temple. Those who had seen the former temple were apparently distraught at seeing the foundation of the new one while others celebrated wholeheartedly to be in Jerusalem and able to build another temple.

2 Chronicles 34-36

Josiah was only eight years old when he began to reign but by the time he was twenty he had instituted reforms and begun ridding the land of idols, Asherah poles and high places. He also instructed that the temple be restored and the Levites had begun work. Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord and it was read to Josiah. He tore his robes when he realised how sinful they had been and that the Lord was bound to punish them. He sent for instructions from a prophet and learned that the Lord would allow his reign to be peaceful because of his attitude. He then had everyone in Jerusalem and Benjamin pledge themselves to God’s law.

Josiah ensured that Passover was celebrated again and that the burnt offerings were properly offered. He seems to have even outdone Jotham as it states “The Passover had not been observed like this in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel” (35:18). Josiah was killed in battle against Pharaoh Necho who he opposed in contradiction to God’s design.

The last chapter of 2 Chronicles briefly recounts the last kings of Judah and their downward spiral. “The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy” (36:15f). Babylon was sent to sack Jerusalem and take the people into exile. The book closes with the declaration of King Cyrus of Persia that he would rebuilt the Jerusalem temple and return the people to their land.

2 Chronicles 31-33

Hezekiah insured that the temple services moved forward by sending out an edict to the people. They were not slow to respond: “As soon as the order went out, the Israelites generously gave the firstfruits of their grain, new wine, oil and honey and all that the fields produced. They brought a great amount, a tithe of everything” (31:5). He ensured that the priests and Levites were provided for and that they carried out their duties according to the Law.

Sennacherib king of Assyria invaded Judah and laid siege to its cities. Hezekiah relied on God and was rewarded with the defeat of the Assyrian forces. The battle is briefly recounted: “the Lord sent an angel, who annihilated all the fighting men and the commanders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king” (32:21). Hezekiah and the people became proud but he repented so the Lord did not punish them. His foolishness with the Babylonians is only hinted at and we are told to consult the prophet Isaiah for more information.

His son Manasseh became king after him and engaged in all the wickedness of the nations including idols, altars, and sacrificing his children in the fire. He even defiled the temple by setting up altars and an image in it. “Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites” (33:9). God allowed Manasseh to be dragged off to Babylon but when he repented he was returned to Jerusalem. He was able to undo some of the damage he had caused but not all, He restored the temple, but “the people, continued to sacrifice at the high places, but only to the Lord their God” (33:17). Manasseh was succeeded by Amon who did evil and did not repent. He was assassinated and his son Josiah came to power.

2 Chronicles 28-30

Jotham’s son Ahaz was as wicked as his father had been righteous. He worshipped all sorts of idols and reinstituted Baal worship. He even sacrificed his children in the fire. He was defeated militarily by all the surrounding nations, including Israel. He sought help from foreign gods and closed the temple of Yahweh, setting up altars on every street corner instead. His son Hezekiah assumed power and reopened the temple of the Lord. It took the Levites sixteen days to clean out the temple and purify it and its instruments from all the wickedness of Ahaz. The cleansing ended with a great celebration and sacrifice in which thousands of animals were slaughtered.

They celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread and the Passover in the second month because they were not ready and not enough priests were consecrated at the proper time. The king invited all of the Hebrew people to Jerusalem to celebrate and although many scorned his messengers many came. Even foreigners came from both Israel and Judah (30:25) and there was great rejoicing as nothing of its kind had been seen since the days of David and Solomon.

2 Chronicles 25-27

Amaziah came to power and killed his father’s murdering officials but did not kill their families but acted in accordance with Deut 28:61 which says that “each of you will die for your own sin.” Amaziah listened to the Lord at the beginning and defeated Edom but quickly turned to worshipping the gods of Edom which had not even saved those people from the Hebrews. How strange. He then challenged Israel to a battle and was soundly defeated because of his idolatry. Israel looted the treasury and knocked down 400 cubits of the city wall. The people deposed Amaziah and put his son Uzziah on the throne. As long as Uzziah was faithful God gave him victory over the Philistines and he fame spread. Unfortunately, his pride also spread and he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense, something only the priests could do. While he argued with the priests leprosy broke out on his forehead and he fled into seclusion for the rest of his life.
Jotham then came to power and was victorious because he followed the Lord. He subdued the Ammonites and collected tribute from them. The verdict being, “Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the Lord his God” (27:6).

2 Chronicles 22-24

Ahaziah took the throne and also acted as wickedly as Ahab. He was soon killed and his mother Athaliah proceeded to try and destroy the entire royal family but Joash escaped and remained hidden in the temple for six years. Jehoiada the priest then had Joash installed as king and the temple of Baal destroyed. Joash was only seven but his reign lasted 40 years and he “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years of Jehoiada the priest” (24:2). Unfortunately, after Jehoiada died the king abandoned the temple and they worshiped Asherah poles and idols. Jehoiada’s son Zechariah condemned their idolatry but instead on repenting they stoned him to death in the temple courtyard! (24:21). Jesus referred to this event when he condemned the religious leaders of his day (Lk 11:51).

Joash was wounded in battle against the Arameans and as he lay injured some of his officials killed him in retribution for his killing Zechariah.

2 Chronicles 19-21

When Jehoshaphat returned to Jerusalem Jehu the seer condemned him for helping Ahab. The rest of the chapter records that he appointed judges and “some of the Levites, priests and heads of Israelite families to administer the law of the Lord and to settle disputes” (19:8ff). Later Moabites and Ammonites with some Meunites came to invade Judah. The king called all the people together to seek help from God. Jehoshaphat cried out to God and reminded him of the past. God assured him that the enemy would be defeated. Indeed, his army did not have a lift a finger as the enemy turned on one another and slaughtered their own forces. The defeat was so complete that it took three days for his troops to carry off the plunder. As a result, “The fear of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side” (20:29f).

The next king was Jehoram who did evil and “followed the ways of the kings of Israel.” It is interesting that although Ahab is the exemplar of a wicked king the wicked kings of Jehoram are compared both to him and to the kings of Israel as a whole. Elijah predicted Jehoram’s death and he died “to no one’s regret, and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings” (21:20).

2 Chronicles 16-18

Although it was noted that Asa followed the Lord all his life chapter 16 records his sin of relying on the king of Aram rather than God. When this was announced to Asa he was angry and imprisoned the seer and “Asa brutally oppressed some of the people.” After Asa came Jehoshaphat, whose “heart was devoted to the ways of the LORD; furthermore, he removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah” (17:6). Those Asherah poles are like weeds, after every reign they need to be pulled up again.

Chapter 18 records how Ahab of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead to fight the Arameans. Jehoshaphat insisted that they inquire of a prophet what the result would be and Micaiah son of Imlah declared victory for the enemy. Ahab ordered him locked up until he returned safely but he was killed in battle.

2 Chronicles 13-15

Chapter 13 records the confrontation between Abijah king of Judah and Jeroboam who still reigned in Israel. Abijah called the people to remember that he was faithful to the temple and its ceremonies and thus God was with them. In contrast, Israel had driven off the priests and erected two golden calves to claim the people’s worship. When battle ensued the army of Judah, although much smaller in number, routed Israel and they fled. Conclusion: “Jeroboam did not regain power during the time of Abijah. And the LORD struck him down and he died” (13:20). This might be a good time to note that the Chronicler is only interested in the southern kingdom of Judah. Unlike the account in Kings which alternates between Judah and Israel all the attention here is given to Judah and Israel is only mentioned in relation to Judah.

The next chapter records the reign of Asa who was good and right in the eyes of the Lord. He removed foreign altars and high places and smashed the sacred stones and cut down Asherah poles. No mention was made of this evil invading the land so it might seem strange that there was so much to remove if we did not have the fuller story from Kings. Zerah the Cushite attacked Judah but the Lord struck his army down and Judah was victorious.

Chapter 15 records the people’s rededication to the Lord. “They entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul. All who would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, were to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman” (15:12f). The reign of Asa is summed up thus: “Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the LORD all his life” (15:17). It is unfortunate that his heart could be committed to the Lord but he was responsible for allowing the high places to remain. It takes more than a godly leader to create a godly nation, as we well know.